I really enjoy this series and was happy to dive into an ARC of the next book.  Ms. Bridge has written a wonderful cast of diverse, quirky characters and set them in a great setting - the Icelandic by the Sea.  I was engaged from the start and was happy to catch up with Liz, Ryan and the rest of the gang.  Once again, there is a murder at the hotel and Liz is determined to solve it for Dorian - a close friend of her great Aunt Amelia.  Each character is developing and growing nicely.  The relationships between the cast of characters are warm and genuine.  I enjoy Liz as a sleuth, but sometimes she can be just a bit nosy which results in getting herself in trouble.

The mystery was well done.  The victim was not well-liked and came off a rude before he was bumped off.  While the suspect pool is small, the author does a nice job of creating enough doubt that as a reader I was never quite sure if I guessed the identity of the killer correctly.  There was a nice little twist thrown in at the end that I didn't anticipate, which is always nice.

This is a terrific series.  It has great characters, solid mystery and is an easy, fun read.

Evil by the Sea is the 4th book in the A By the Sea Mystery Series and the first of the series that I've read. Liz Holt helps run her family's Florida resort and is also a novelist and amature sleuth. He boyfriend is a PI, her Great Aunt Amelia is a former actress with so many fabulous stories and her Aunt's friend Dorian is a famous psychic. They both add a lot of depth to the story along with their unique pets. The plot centers around Dorian's wedding to a younger man named Julian who is the head of a Wiccan community. The days leading up to the wedding were full of suspicious activity surrounding Julian, Dorian receiving threatening letters, the interactions with her adult children and the arrival of a woman associated with Julian named Wren.  Julian winds up dead at the rehearsal dinner and Liz decides to try and find out who is behind it. The book had a lot of fun interactions and characters, there was some exciting action and I enjoyed the read.

This is the fourth book in the series, but the first I have read.
Eccentric and interesting characters and a well written whodunit.
I will have to read the previous books now.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Evil by the Sea is Book 4 in the By The Sea Mystery Series.

Liz Holt is a mystery writer working at her family resort on an island in  Florida. 

This mystery was well written with a well developed plot and fun characters. 

I look forward to the next book in the series.

This is the 4th installment of A By the Sea Mystery Series.  Liz Holt is a mystery novelist who is working at her family resort on the barrier island of Melbourne Beach Florida.  Her Great Aunt Amelia is a former actress of many tv shows from days gone by and one of her friends Dorian who is a celebrity psychic is planning a much younger man who is the head of a Wiccan society.  Unfortunately, he is poisoned and the rehearsal dinner (guess her abilities did not pick up on that) and she wants Liz to help figure out who did it.  There are a lot of eccentric characters including Liz’s parrot who is pretty foul mouthed.  This is a mystery which has humor and is a quick enjoyable read.

Evil by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge is the fourth book in her By the Sea series and was another stellar story by Ms. Bridge. I was drawn into the story from the first page.

I love each one of these characters and look forward to each new addition. Aunt Amelia is quirky and fun. I enjoy the numerous references to the television shows and actors that Amelia was a part of during her prolific acting career. Liz has grown so much in each one of these books. I like to see her coming out of shell. A quickly paced plot, several suspects and a few twists and turns that lead to a dramatic resolution. I'm already looking forward to the next one in this series.

I've enjoyed the series from the beginning, and this story is no exception. The author keeps it interesting, both with the characters and the twists and turns, very enjoyable.

friendship, amateur-sleuth, law-enforcement, private-investigators, family-dynamics, murder-investigation, Florida, barrier-islands, psychics

It all happens at a beautiful restored family hotel on one of the barrier islands of Florida. Mystery novelist Liz whose love interest is a PI, her father is a lawyer, his fiancee who is a police detective, her own rescued parrot (prone to voicing obscenities), but it's her Aunt Amelia who was an actress in many of the mid century TV shows whose friend is remarrying to a rather inauspicious but charismatic much younger man that is the center of all the activity. The publisher's blurb is a pretty good hook, but there's lots more to recommend the plot with its twists and red herrings than meets the eye. I admit that I enjoyed another in the series, but there is enough clear referencing to make this one enjoyable all by itself! I loved it and couldn't stop until finished!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books/Lyrical Press via NetGalley. Thank you!